Government Codes Regarding Travel Reimbursement

Page Content Main

The following Government Codes establishes the authority of the Director of the California
Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to reimburse certain expenses and to establish reimbursement rates and requirements. Additionally, the CalHR "Rules" have been established to implement the provisions of these codes.

11030. All elective constitutional officers, heads of departments, chiefs of divisions, assistants, deputies, agents, experts and other officers and employees of the State when away from their headquarters for purposes of state business and all members of the Legislature when attending regular, special or extraordinary sessions of the Legislature shall receive in addition to their salaries, their actual necessary traveling expenses.

11032. Any state officer or employee of any state agency may confer with other persons, associations, or organizations outside of the state whenever it may be of assistance in the conduct of state business. Actual and necessary expenses for travel outside of the state as authorized by this section shall be allowed when approved by the Governor. This section shall not apply to employees of any legislative committee or to the Legislative Counsel or his or her employees.

18502. (a) There is hereby created in state government the department of Human Resources. The department succeeds to and is vested with the following:

(1) All of the powers and duties exercised and performed by the Department of Personnel Administration.

(2) Those powers, duties, and authorities necessary to operate the state civil service system pursuant to Article VII of the California Constitution, this code, the merit principle, and applicable rules duly adopted by the State Personnel Board.

(b) The State Personnel Board shall prescribe rules consistent with a merit based civil service system to govern classification, examinations, probationary periods, disciplinary actions, and other matters related to the board's authority under Article VII of the California Constitution. The State Personnel Board may conduct audits and investigations of personnel practices of the department and appointing authorities to ensure compliance with civil service policies, procedures, and statutes.

(c) This section shall not limit the authority of the Department of Human Resources and the State Personnel Board to delegate, share, or transfer between them responsibilities for programs within their respective jurisdictions pursuant to an agreement.

(d) The rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board and of the Department of Personnel Administration shall remain in effect unless and until contradicted by the terms of this chapter or amended or repealed by the board or the Department of Human Resources.

19815.4. The director shall do all of the following:

(a) Be responsible for the management of the department.

(b) Administer and enforce the laws pertaining to personnel.

(c) Observe and report to the Governor on the conditions of the nonmerit aspects of personnel.

(d) Formulate, adopt, amend, or repeal rules, regulations, and general policies affecting the purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the department and that are consistent with the law and necessary for personnel administration. All regulations relating to personnel administration heretofore adopted pursuant to this part by the State Personnel Board, California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, Department of General Services, and the Department of Finance, and in effect on the operative date of this part, shall remain in effect and shall be fully enforceable unless and until readopted, amended, or repealed by the director.

(f) Act on behalf of the department and delegate powers to any authorized representative.

(h) Perform any other duties that may be prescribed by law, and any other administrative and executive duties that have by other provisions of law been previously imposed.

19820. The director shall adopt general rules and regulations doing all of the following:

(a) Limiting the amount, time, and place of expenses and allowances to be paid to officers, employees, experts, and agents of the state while traveling on official state business. The rules and regulations shall provide for reasonable reimbursement to an officer, employee, expert, or agent of the state for expenses incurred by him or her to repair a privately owned vehicle which was damaged through no fault of the officer, employee, expert, or agent, if the damage occurred while the vehicle was used on official state business with the permission or authorization of an employing agency.

As used in this subdivision, "officers and employees of the state" means all officers and employees of the state other than elected state officers, officers and employees of the state provided for in Article VI of the California Constitution, and officers and employees of the California State University. "Officers and employees of the state" is not limited by subdivision (d) of Section 19815.

(b) Governing such matters as are specifically committed to the jurisdiction of the department.

(c) Governing the computation of pay in the case of any employee on a monthly basis salary who is entitled to less than a full month's pay.

If this section is in conflict with a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 3517.5, the memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 3517.5, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if any conflicting provision of a memorandum of understanding requires the expenditure of funds, that provision shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.

19822. (a) The director, by rule, shall determine the fair and reasonable value of maintenance, living quarters, housing, lodging, board, meals, food, household supplies, fuel, laundry, domestic servants, and other services furnished by the state as an employer to its employees.

The value so determined shall constitute the charges to be made to state employees for any maintenance or other services furnished by the state, unless the employee is entitled to maintenance or other services as compensation for his or her services or as actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the state's business. Whenever a state employee is entitled to maintenance or other services as part or full compensation for services rendered, the value thereof for retirement purposes, as defined by Section 20630, and for salary or wage fixing purposes, shall also be determined in accordance with the values established by the department. The director, by rule, shall provide instruction for the administration of all lodging, maintenance, and other services furnished by the state as an employer to its employees. The director, by rule, shall provide for reasonable opportunity to be heard by departments or employees affected by this section.

(b) Compliance with all rules associated with the lodging, maintenance, and other services furnished by the state as an employer to its employees shall be the responsibility of each director of each state department possessing lodging or supplying maintenance or other services to its employees.

(c) If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 3517.5, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if such provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.

19822.5. The department shall by rule authorize such expenditures as are reasonably necessary for the meals, lodging, or travel of persons who provide nonsalaried assistance to the department or a designated appointing power in the preparation or conduct of written or oral examinations.

19842. (a) For the purpose of facilitating either the recruitment of professional and technically trained persons to fill positions for which there is a shortage of qualified applicants or hiring to achieve goals developed pursuant to Section 19790, the department may authorize payment of all or a part of the travel expense of applicants who are called for interview and all or a part of the travel and moving expense of persons who change their place of residence to accept employment with the state. These payments shall be authorized only upon the certification of the appointing power and the department that the expenditure is necessary in order to recruit qualified persons needed by the state.

If, for reasons that do not meet the approval of the state department concerned, the employee or applicant for employment does not accept or continue the employment for a period of two years, he or she shall reimburse the state department for the moving and travel expenses for the full or proportionate amount.

For the purposes of this section, satisfactory reasons for not completing two years of employment shall be death, prolonged illness, disability, unacceptability of the applicant or employee to the state department, and similar eventualities beyond the control of the state department, and similar eventualities beyond the control of the applicant or employee.

(b) If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 3517.5, the memorandum of understanding shall be controlling without further legislative action, except that if the provisions of a memorandum of understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.